Ex-Rep. Rivera’s Pal Pleads Not Guilty To Federal Charges

The drama involving Ana Alliegro finally resulted in federal charges this week. The close associate of former Rep. David Rivera (R-FL) pleaded not guilty in court on Monday to charges of making a false statement, conspiring, and making illegal campaign contributions, according to The Miami Herald. Prosecutors asked a judge to deny bond for Alliegro, arguing that she was a flight risk.

The charges came after a years-long saga, involving a federal case brought against a longshot Democratic congressional candidate with reported ties to both Alliegro and Rivera, Alliegro bouncing back and forth from Nicaragua, in apparent attempts to evade the Feds, and Rivera himself losing his congressional seat and then going quiet.

From the Herald’s description, Alliegro has had an unpleasant week. She was arrested by Nicaraguan police last Tuesday at the request of the U.S. embassy there. She then spent several days in a Nicaraguan facility under “some pretty terrible conditions,” according to her lawyer, before being sent to the United States on Friday, which happened to be her 44th birthday. She then spent the weekend in solitary confinement in the U.S. because she had yet to have a medical examination.

Prosecutors have now accused Alliegro and unnamed “co-conspirators” of steering $82,000 in unreported contributions to the unlikely 2012 congressional campaign of a man named Justin Lamar Sternad. Sternad pleaded guilty in a federal case last year, and recently updated his federal campaign finance documents to indicate that he had received campaign help from Rivera “and/or” Alliegro. Rivera has denied wrongdoing.